Coin-controlled photographic apparatus.



N0. 708,!67. Patented Sept. 2, I902.

G. N. PIFEB.

COIN CONTROLLED PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS.

(Application filed Mar. 8, 1902.) N 0 M o d e l 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

No. 708,!67. Patented Sept. 2, I902. a. N. PIFER. COIN CONTROLLED PHOTOGRAPHIC APPABAT (Application filed Mar. 8, 1902.1

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

THE NORRIS PETERS c0. PHOTO-LURE wgsmnorom n. cy

N0. 708;|67. Patented Sept. 2. lsuzf a. N. PIFER.

- COIN CONTROLLED PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS.

(Application filed Mar. 8, 1902. (No Model 3 Sheets Sheet 3.

(It town THE NORRIS sums co, Punro-umo. \VASHVNGTON DV 0.

row on the left of said figure.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE N. PIFER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN AUTOMATIC PHOTOGRAPI'IIC COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A COR- PORATION OF OHIO.

COIN-CONTROLLED PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 708,167, dated September 2, 1902. Application filed March 8,1902. Serial No. 97,306. (No model.)

T0 to whom it may concern:

Be it known that LGEORGE N. PIFER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Coin-Controlled Photographic- Apparatus, of which the following is a speciiication, the principle of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

My invention relates to coin-controlled machines for automatically producing a photographic likeness, its object being to produce a device of such character which will embody in its design economy of construction and operation,simplicity,and efficiency in a more advantageous degree than has heretofore been obtained in any machine having a similar function heretofore constructed and of which I have knowledge.

Said invention consists of means hereinafter described, and specifically set forth in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting but one of various me chanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings, Figure I represents a front elevation of the main portion of an automatic photographic apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. II represents a side elevation of said device, showing a portion of the framework broken away to eiipose the mechanism behind it and viewed in the direction indicated'by the arrow on the right of Fig. I. Fig. III represents a vertical transverse cross-sectional view taken upon the plane indicated by the line 3 3 in Fig. I and viewed in the direction indicated by the ar- Fig. IV rep resents a diagrammatic view of the electrical circuit embodied in my said invention. Fig. V is a detail side view of an operating-rod, an arm, and a shaft, to be hereinafter referred to.

The complete machine embodying myabovenamed inventionand its operation is described in my application, Serial No. 85,730, filed December 13, 1901, so that only that portion of the invention relating to the coin-controlled mechanism and parts relating thereto and involved therein will be described herein. As

described in said application, the interior opcrating mechanism of the complete machine consists generally of a plate-magazine A, a camera B, including the lens B, a motor E, and gear for engaging same, coin-controlled means for controlling the operation of said motor, plate-feeding means, means for operating the camera-shutter, and a series of finishing-baths and mechanism for carrying the photographic plate from one to the other of such baths, and finally ejecting same from the device, such plate-feeding, shutter-operating, and plate-carrying means being operated by said motor or controlled by means connected therewith. That portion of the machine relating to the finishing operation is omitted from the illustrations accompanying this application. The camera employed consists merely of alens, a shutter, and means for receiving and holding the plate at the focal plane, a casing inclosing the mechanism being made lighttight. The main frame G is supported in a suitable casing (not shown) and supports upon the right as viewed in Fig. I a springmotor E, by means of which an operatingshaft E is rotated. The motor is mounted upon a shaft 6, Fig. I, upon which are secured two pinions 6' e Pinion e meshes with the segment 6 secured to a shaft 0, the outer end of which latter extends laterally, as shown in Fig. I. Upon such outer end is secured an operating-leverE Pinion c meshes with a train ofgears, one of which, e is mounted upon the operating-shaft E. By pulling down E the motor may be energized, and upon the release of the lever at the end of its energizing stroke the motor may be caused to rotate the operating-shaft in the direction indicated by the arrow upon the gear 6", Fig. II. The arrangement of the motor, pinions,

operating-shaft, and operating-lever in so far as relates to the mere rotation of the operating-shaft need not be further described, since in this respect the construction is old and well known. It is hence sufficient to state that the motor is energized by the downward stroke of lever E whereupon the shaft E may be rotated, a suitable governor D being connected therewith to eifect a predetermined velocity of rotation. Suitable means, described in my above-mentioned application Serial No. 85,730, are provided for limiting the downward stroke of the operating-lever. Upon the inner end of the operating-shaft is secured a disk E to which I shall hereinafter refer by the term operating-wheel. Said wheel has provided upon its peripherya notch 6 in which rests a stop-arm or detent h of the. mechanism for controlling the motors operation. (See Fig. I.) This is most expeditiously effected by providing such detent with a downwardly-extending arm h", which is adapted to engage and disengage the governor D to stop same, such engagement thereby stopping the motor or permitting same to rotate on such disengagement, thereby permitting the motor to operate. Such detent is secured to the sleeve h, loosely and oscillatorily mounted upon the oscillatory rod 77?, Fig. I, mounted in the frame of the machine. Secured upon said rod is an arm J, Fig. III, at the outer end of which is attached the lens, opening and closing the shutter b. Said arm is provided with a shoulder j, which is engaged by a hinged armature 7c of the magnet K when the shutter is closed, as shown in Fig. III. Such engagement is maintained by a helical spring 71 Fig. I, secured to the rod 72. and frame, respectively. Said spring is set in tension so as to raise the shutter to its open position when the armature 7c is lifted from its engagement with the arm J, as shown in dotted lines in said Fig. III. Sleeve h actuates the detent h, as will hereinafter appear. It is therefrom seen that the armature 7c, arm J, and its actuating means and detent h constitute means for controlling the operation of the motor, the magnet controlling the operation of said arm and the latter actuating the detent, such magnet also controlling the operation of the shutter-operating means. This latter means hence actuates that part of the controlling mechananism which directly controls the motors operation-that is, the detent. The inner end of rod h is formed with a projecting lip 7L3, Fig. I, and the adjacent end of sleeve h is provided with a recess 71 which permits the rod h to be oscillated within the limits prescribed by said notch and independently of said sleeve, so that the movement of the said rod attending the upward movement of arm J is attended by an upward movement of detent h, whereby the latter is released from the notch e -and the motor is permitted to operate, the recess it being located so as to permit such action to be effected. This described construction allows the rod 7L and arm J to be moved back and the shutter to be closed independently of the detent h.

Upon the inner end of the operating-shaft E is secured, by means of a thumb-nut 6 Figs. I and III, an arm E The end of such arm which is uppermost when the operatingwheel and notch e is engaged by the detent is provided with an offset lip 6 whose path of revolution intersects the lip 72 when the rod It occupies the position coincident with the raised or open position of the shutter 0, whereby it is .seen that the said rod may upon the rotation of the operating-wheel be turned back by the engagement of said lip e and the lip h and the shutter thereby closed, so as to exclude the light from the lens.

Upon the upper portion of the frame G is secured a tubular magazine-seat G, in which the magazine A is telescoped. Immediately below the lower end of said seat is a square aperture 9 of less diameter than the plates a in the magazine. Transversely of the bottom of the said seat'is a slideway g, which forms a lateral opening 9 through which theplates may be removed successively, as will hereinafter be described. In said slideway is a slide N, having an opening 'it adapted to receive the plates. In the rear end of said slideway is formed a semicircular opening g so arranged that the plates are discharged therefrom into a chute G leading down- Wardly and provided with means for stopping such plates at the required focal plane behind the lens of the camera, such operation being more fully described in my abovenamed application Serial No. 85,730. The front end of said slide N is engaged by a lever O,which is secured to an oscillatory shaft 0, journaled in the upper front portion of the frame, Figs. I and III. The right-hand end of said shaft is provided with a crankarm 0, to which is attached a connecting-rod 0, whose lower end is attached to the segment e The connections between the segment and the slideway are arrangedinamanner such that the opening n will fall immediately below the magazine when the operating-lever E is occupying its uppermost positionthat is, that position which it occupies at the beginning of its energizing stroke, such position being shown in Fig. III. The oscillation of the lever E as is seen, is attended by the reciprocation of the slide N. The length of travel of said slide is such as to carry a plate from the magazine over the opening g and permit such plate to drop through such opening. The plates are placed in the magazine with their sensitized surfaces up, so that such surface of the lowermost plate is not exposed when it is necessary to open the magazine-casing of the mechanism.

At the front of the device is provided a coin-duct Q, such duct being flared at its upper end, so as to permit of the ready introduction of a coin therein. The lower part of said duct is curved toward one side, the left,

as illustrated in Fig. I, to avoid intercepting the light which is required to enter the lens, and intermediately of its ends is formed a slot q, into which projects awing 0 forming part of the slide-operating lever O, which normally intersects the coin-path and prevents the coin from dropping to the bottom of the duct until the slide N is moved backward its full distance-that is, until the operating-lever has reached t-heend of its energizing stroke.

Immediately below the aperture g, Fig. III, is located a cup-shaped end of the lever G which is connected by means of the rod g with an oscillatory lever G one arm of which is capable of being swung into the upper portion of the coin-duct through the opening (1 and thus intersect the upper end of the coinduct. This end of said lever g is made sufficiently wide and placed in a position to effectually obstruct the coin-path and prevent the introduction of a coin therein. Normally said lever 'n is caused to lie outside of such path. Upon the removal of the last plate from the magazine the weight A drops into the cup-shaped end of lever G and by its weight tilts the lever G so as to effectually prevent the subsequent introduction of a coin. Such obstruction continues until the weight is removed, such removal being effected by hand when the machine is reloaded, as described in the above-named application. At the bottom of said duct and laterally of the coin-path is a pair of electric contacts, one of which consists of an elastic strip 1), and the other of which consists of an adjustable screw 19, secured to an oscillatory arm P, suitably journaled upon the frame and connected with and operated by a rod P, whose rear end is connected with an arm p, as shown in detail Fig. V. Secured to a rockshaft p is a shaft extending transversely to the right and has its extremity formed with an angularly-projecting lip 13 which normally intersects the path of the lower end of the shutter-operating lever E, which latter is provided with a laterally-projecting lip c, Fig. I, adapted to engage the projecting lip p oscillates the rock-shaft 19 and through the medium of the rod P oscillates the arm P. Normally-that is, when no coin is located in the bottom of the coin-ductthe position of arm P is such as to bring the screw-contactp directly to the right of the spring-contact b, but not into contact therewith. Upon introducing a coin into the coinduct and permitting it to fall to the lower end thereof it strikes contact I) and moves same into contact with the screw-contact p. The latter is, however, placed at a distance such as to prevent contact I) from permitting the coin to pass through and out of the duct, as shown in Fig. I. The coin is thus held suspended by the two contacts in contact with each other. It is hence seen that the oscillation of the arm P would disengage the two contacts and permit the coin to drop through the coin-duct.

The rock-shaft is journaled immediately behind the chute G Fig. III, and upon it is secured a valve P, which normally holds the plate which has been discharged, as previously described, from the slideway through the aperture 9 its location being such as to effect such holding so as to bring the plates sensitized surface into the focal plane of the camera directly behind the lens. It is hence seen that the breaking of contact of the two contacts Z) and p is attended by a release of the plate from the bottom of the chute as a result of the engagement of the lips e and p when such plate is resting upon the valve P The said two contacts, as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. IV, are placed in the same electrical circuit with the magnet K, and in this same circuit are placed two other contacts and Figs. I and 1V, in a position such that they will be brought into contact with each other by the segment 6 at the end of the energizing stroke of the operatinglever E A third pair of contacts are included in this same circuit and are located in the handle B, Fig. IV, which, as described in my above-named application Serial No. 85,730 is located upon the outside of the easing and connected by means of a suitable flexible connection, whereby it may be removed from the supporting-hook and carried about. These contacts, normally open, are caused to engage by means of an ordinary push-button. Suitable batteries S are provided and suitably located for providing the electrical current in the circuit described.

The operation of the abovedescribed mechanism is as follows: A coin of the proper size having been dropped into the coin-chute passes down the duct Q until it is arrested by the obstructing-wing 0 As illustrated in the drawings, the forward end of the slide N intersects the coin-duct, so that the coin is first obstructed by such slide. This function of the slide is not designed, but is a result of necessity in the construction shown in order to give the slide the necessary length of stroke. On operating the slide to move back the coin is released and then falls upon the wing 0 where it is held until released, as hereinafter described. The subject or operator having removed the handle R from its support new pulls down the lever E to the end of its energizing stroke. Such action energizes the motor and simultaneously operates the wing o so as to remove same from the duct and permit the coin to drop and effect contact between the contacts b and p, the segment 6 having meanwhile effected contact between the contacts 70' and 70 Such operation of such lever also removes the lowermost plate a from the magazine, carries same backwardly, and permits it to drop through the aperture 9 and fall upon the valve P, which holds it in the required focal plane. These operations are all performed before the exposure takes place. The push-button in the handle R now being pressed the magnet-circuit is completed, and the current passing through the magnetic coils effects the attraction of the armature, which is followed by IIO the release of the arm J, which latter is then free to be moved upwardly by the spring b Upon so moving such arm carries with it the shutter c, the rod kg, and hence the detent h. The motor being now free to operate as a result of such action of the detent starts the rotation of the operating-wheel, exposure of the plate meanwhile taking place. Such starting of the motor effects the return movement of the segment, the beginning of such movement being immediately followed by the disengagement of the contacts and k After the lapse of time determined by the angular position of arm E lip e engages lip h and turns back rod k thereby returning the shutter to its closed position. The circuit having been broken by the disengagement of the contacts 70 and 70 it is seen that the arm J is returned to its original position, the armature always being at such a time in position to rengage and lock same in such position, so that the locking of the shutter in its closed position takes place independently of the operator. The rotation of the operating-wheel meanwhile continues with detent h riding upon its periphery. Immediately following the above-described operation lip e engages the ofiset lip p opens valve P thereby permitting the exposed plate to drop downwardly, as described in my above-named application, into the developing and fixing solution. At the same time contact 19 is withdrawn from its engagement with contact I) by the action of rock-shaft 19 thus permitting the coin to become disengaged from the duct Q and to drop into a suitable receptaclenvhich may be arranged to receive same. When the plates are exhausted, as previously'described, the lever G tilts forward and obstructs the upper end of the coin-duct, so as to prevent the subsequent introduction of a coin, such action being effected by the weight A, which drops into the cup-shaped lever N below the magazine upon such exhaustion.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead 01": the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any one of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention 1. In coin controlled, automatic photographic apparatus, the combination of a motor, a coin-duct, an operating-lever connected with said motor, and an electrical-circuit-containing means for controlling the operation of said motor, and two pairs of electrical contacts for opening and closing such circuit, a member of one pair being located in the coinpath of said duct and a member of the other being located in the lever-path.

2. In coin controlled, automatic photographic apparatus, the combination of a motor, a coin-duct, an operating-lever for energizing such motor, and an electrical-circuitcontaining means for controlling the operation of said motor, and two pairs of contacts for opening and closing said circuit, a member of one pair being located in the coin-path of saidduct, and a member of the other being located in the lever-path at the end of its energizing stroke.

3. In a coin-controlled automatic photographic apparatus, the combination of a motor, a coin-duct, means for controlling the operation of said motor, including a pair of electrical contacts one of which is movable and adapted while in contact with the other to hold same in the coin-path of said duct, and means for actuating said movable contact to disengage the other contact, whereby the latter may be removed from the coin-path.

4. In coin controlled automatic photographic apparatns, the combination of a motor, acoin-duct, an operating-lever connected with said motor; and an electrical circuit including means for controlling the operation of said motor, three pairs of electrical contacts for opening and closing such circuit, a member of one pair being located in the coinpath of said duct, a member of asecond pair being located in the lever-path, and a mem ber of the third pair being capable of being manually operated.

Signed by me this 7th day of March, A. D. 1902.

GEORGE N. PIFER.

Attest:

A. E. MERKEL, MAY M. PLYER. 

